


Episode 1.23: Not A Toy

by Starbooks13



Series: Spiders Have To Stick Together [23]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Blending Universes, Canon Compliant, F/M, Friendship, International Relations, Natasha & Loki Are Complicated, Natasha Is Going After Doom, Politics, Poor Coulson, Protective!Natasha, Spiders Have To Stick Together, Spies & Secret Agents, Steve Does Not Want To Touch That Mess, Steve Is Not Going To Stop Her, Steve Sometimes Gets Tired of Hero Worship, Teasing, Women Being Awesome, sort of not really, teammates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-08 12:46:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1132815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starbooks13/pseuds/Starbooks13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Steve and Natasha deal with the fallout of the shield incident and Steve actually argues that Tony is a good example for a minor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Episode 1.23: Not A Toy

                Steve collapsed into his seat as the SHIELD Quinjet rocketed away from Latveria.  Natasha sat down across from him, looking even more exhausted.  “Thanks again for the extraction, Cap.”

                “Anytime.”  He sat up a little and winced at a slight pain in his shoulder from where a Doombot had nailed him.  “Then again, maybe not anytime in the near future.”

                “I’m not planning on sneaking into Doom’s castle again anytime in the near future, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

                Steve looked at her.  “You got it though, right?”

                She nodded and pulled out a disk.  “All of Doom’s data on your shield.”  She snorted.  “What little there actually was.  You and Parker got to him before he could do any kind of serious analysis.  Still, it never hurts to be sure.”

                “Agreed.”  After the Doom incident in New York put tensions between the U.S. and Latveria at an all-time high, sending a SHIELD agent to steal from the good Doctor was a huge risk.  But if anyone could have done it, it was Natasha.  And since part of the mess had been Steve’s fault, he’d insisted on being her extraction—especially since the last time she’d gone into Latveria without a SHILED-sanctioned extraction plan, she’d ended up relying on Loki.  Steve did not want to know what kind of bargain she’d struck with the Trickster to get him to endanger his relationship with Doom by bailing her out.  Whatever…thing Natasha had with the God of Mischief was a complicated mess that Steve was better off staying far away from.

                “So when are you going to forgive Coulson?” Natasha asked, a twinkle of amusement in her eye.

                Steve sighed.  “I already forgave him, Nat.”

                “So why’s he still acting like he’s in the doghouse?”

                Steve rolled his eyes.  Natasha already knew that Coulson was simply still embarrassed over the entire thing.  She just loved teasing the senior agent about it.  So did Barton and Stark, for that matter.  Coulson’s hero worship of him was…nice, from time to time, but other times it could get a little annoying.   And sometimes creepy—Steve did not need to know that Coulson had worn a Cap suit under his shirt that day with the kids.

                He decided to distract Natasha the best way he knew how—bring up Spider-Man.  “The kids were great.  They’ve got real potential.  Especially Peter.”  He really did get now why Natasha thought the boy was destined for greatness.  “He’s a fast leaner, a fast thinker, and he’s definitely no slouch in combat.  Given a little time, training, and maturity, he’ll easily be worthy of the Avengers.”

                “That’s what I’m hoping,” she replied.  “I just hope he turns out to be a hero more like you and less like Tony.”

                Steve smiled.  “Hey, Tony’s not that bad.  He just has the occasional…authority issues.”

                Natasha snorted.  “He can be reckless and make dumb decisions.  Just like Parker did with your shield.  Why didn’t he listen to you?”

                “He listened to me when it mattered.  And you know Tony does, too.”  He shook his head.  “Tony's right, Nat, I think you’re worrying about him too much.”

                She gave him a look.  “He just took on Doom.  Who swore revenge.  I’m not resting until that’s settled.”

                Steve winced.  “Don’t tell me you’re going back there again.”

                She waved a hand.  “Don’t be ridiculous.”  He sighed in relief.  “I’m waiting till Doom visits another country.  His embassies are much easier to break in and out of.”

                Steve leaned back in his seat with a rueful chuckle.  He was not going to argue with her on that one.

**Author's Note:**

> Look for Natasha and Doom's confrontation at some point in the future (though I'm not sure when cause Doom doesn't appear again in the show)!


End file.
